Nanami Momozono
Nanami Momozono (桃園 奈々生) is the main character of the manga series Kamisama Hajimemashita. She is the human land god of Mikage shrine, a title which lands her in being ridiculed and looked down upon by other, more powerful inhuman gods. Her familiars are Tomoe and Mizuki, both of whom appear to be very protective and endearing to her. She has romantic affections for Tomoe, who begins to return the inclination, though reluctant to admit it. She is also one out of the three people (The others being Mikage and Kayako) in the series that truly believes that Humans and Yokai can get along and love each other. A belief that Tomoe finds to be "naive thinking", which in turn makes Nanami want to prove him wrong even more, which is why she is so certain that Himemiko's love for Kotarou will work and is always wishing that she can marry them together. In the Kurama Mountain Act, when Nanami, Tomoe, and Kurama head towards the Tengu village high up in the mountains, the Tengu prefer to her as "Tennin" or "Celestial Maiden" / "Fairy". Because of her abilities, the thousand-year sakura tree was able to bloom once again, and it is because of this that the younger Tengu children call her "elder sister" and describe her as being beautiful and warm. Appearance Nanami has dark brown/black hair that just barely passes her shoulders (though it can appear that it reaches all the way to her mid-back, in both manga and anime), brown eyes, rosy cheeks, and fair clear skin. She is noted to be very pretty, and whenever she dresses exquisitely, people around her tend to stare in awe--humans and demons alike. She is flat-chested (though she does have a size A or B chest), and one time while she told Tomoe about a dream she had where he embraced her when she was sleeping (which in reality he did), he quickly answered her by saying he was dreaming he had spent time with Tanuki girls, which was an excuse used to cover up what actually happened, and he said just feeling Nanami's flat chest woke him up. She is mainly seen wearing her school uniform all the time, and when not wearing them, she is seen wearing skirts, dresses and occasionally pants. Plot Nanami has a no good father who likes to gamble away their food and rent money. One day when she returns from school, she finds a note stating he has run away and to not search for him. With so much overdue rent for the apartment, officials evicted Nanami from her home. Being left homeless as Nanami had nowhere else to go as she has no relatives or money. Then, not far from where she was, she sees a dog barking at a scared man clinging to a tree calling for help. She "saves" the man by shooing the dog away. After hearing Nanami's plight, the man gives her a kiss on her forehead and tells her that she would make a much better master to his "house" than he would. He hands Nanami a note with the location of his house and tells her to tell the people there that Mikage sent her. Relationships Tomoe At first, when she came to Mikage shrine, he thought she was Mikage who returned after a twenty year absence and proceeded to attack Nanami, who then shouted she wasn't Mikage. Realizing that it wasn't Mikage who returned after all, he notifies the two shrine spirits, Onikiri and Kotetsu, who disguised themselves as "will-o'-the-wisps" for dramatic effect for his entrance. Once he figures out that Mikage gave her his position as the Land God, Tomoe got mad and ordered Onikiri and Kotetsu to get her out of the shrine (To which they stated that "Mikage has given her his blessing" horrified that he would say such a thing) He then leaves, but comes back and sees Nanami bleed from plucking out the grass. To which he states that she is weak and helpless and that she should go back home, thinking her to be a runaway. Nanami then states that she wasn't the one to run away from home and that it was her dad who did so. Surprising Tomoe, to which he kicks her in the butt with his foot and tells her to stay away from the mirror of the hall. In the beginning of the story, Tomoe acts indifferent towards anything having to do with Nanami. as the story progresses, Tomoe doesn't seem to trust Nanami, and thinks that she will leave like Mikage, resulting in him keeping a close eye on her. Though as the story continues, Nanami shows Tomoe that she won't abandon him. To which he becomes extremely loyal to her, it has been indicated that Tomoe has fallen in love with Nanami as they spend more time together. He constantly compares her to being as weak as a bug, knowing how weak she is as a human compared to his kind and immortal gods, though he thinks of her as a flower that is lovable, pure and awe-inspiring. He ends up having more faith in Nanami as the story goes on, but still thinks she is an idiot. Tomoe started out not caring at all about Nanami, but eventually becomes quite taken with her and even becomes quite envious with any boy that touches her or spends time with her, besides him. In past Tomoe actually fell for Nanami but thought of her as Yukiji as she never told him her name or appeared before him. Mizuki After saving a white snake from being bullied by a couple of classmates, Nanami releases it into the outside, but notices there was an odd red mark on her wrist where she held it. The white snake left an engagement mark on her wrist, created by his saliva. He captures her and keeps her in the Yonomori Shrine where he lived with his former master many years ago. Eventually, Nanami finds it strange she has never seen Yonomori at all. In actuality, the shrine was recreated with Mizuki's power after Yonomori died due to lack of worshipers. Nanami feels bad for Mizuki because he keeps waiting for a master that will never return. She promises to come back and keep him company in the future. Soon after the Dragon king kidnapped Tomoe, Nanami came to the realization that, in order to save Tomoe, she must get back the Dragon King's eye (which Tomoe stole from the Dragon King centuries ago). Accompanied by Mizuki, she visits the sea witch, Isohime who finds the eye in her body, but in the process of removing it, the Isohime tricks her. Instead of taking some of her life force, the witch ends up taking her soul and the dragon eye. However, because of Mizuki, who had decided to become her familiar, Nanami was saved. Mizuki realized that even though without her familiar by her side, and still being just a human, she was still willing to do anything to help those in need. As a sign of respect, Mizuki kissed Nanami, who was knocked out, saying "This is my highest respect. I only bow down to you." Soon after this, he takes both Nanami's soul and the dragon eye from the sea witch. Nanami ends up hitting him for kissing her when she was asleep. Mikage Mikage was the previous land god of Mikage shrine, and the one responsible for making Nanami a human god. 20 years before the start of the series, Mikage went on a journey in the hopes to find a cure that will break Tomoe's curse markings. With no luck, he decided to head back, but he was chased by a dog on the way, where Nanami found him up a tree calling for help. She "shoos" the dog away, "saving" his life. As they sit on a bench and talk, Mikage mentions Tomoe's name, which makes Nanami wonder if that is his wife (Because Tomoe is a girl name). After Nanami tells Mikage that she has no home, he tells her that he will give her his, stating that, "It can't be empty forever". He kisses her on the forehead, placing the mark of the land god and making her become the new land god. It is later revealed that Mikage wanted to show Tomoe that humans were not as weak as he thought in the hopes of "retying" his fate to humans, which he thanked Nanami for during the God Summit arc, saying, "I hope Tomoe chooses you". In the end, Mikage puts all his faith in Nanami, believing her to be the only one that can save Tomoe. Abilities During the beginning of the story, as Nanami is human, she does not bear any supernatural power whatsoever, even though she is appointed land god. Soon after becoming the land god, she learns how to use talismans and gains the power of purification. As a Master of Tomoe and Mizuki, she also has the ability to have them obey her words when expressed earnestly even if it's against their will, Restraint, a proof of absolute obedience. At the Tengu Mountain when the miasma was there, she was able to get the sakura tree to blossom, but soon after doing so, the tree went back to its original state as a blossom less tree. Currently, Nanami possesses Mamorinogami's Peach Elixir also called "God's Elixir", after trading some meat buns for it. When someone takes the elixir, it will heal any kind of injury or disease that they have sustained. It was meant to be a farewell gift to Tomoe who had decided to drop his familiar title and become a Yokai. She gave it to him as a gift to protect him, but he didn't accept it and when back on as his duty as her familiar. But she holds on to it for safe keeping. She trades it with the fallen Kappa god in the river so she can meet the fallen god she is looking for. Nanami has a strange power where she can change the point of view of others and make them better people due through her actions and words. This is seen when she showed Tomoe that humans can be strong and now weak creatures as he thought. Nanami also can be moved and changed by people and demons around her as well as learn from them. Like when she saw Mizuki's devotion to his shrine, learning that he was Conley. Himemiko's asking her to be with Kotarou, learning that humans and demons can love each other. Kamehime's (the Dragon king's wife) devotion to her husband and how even though she lost the kimono she was going to give him, she was still happy even though it happened. *'Talismans:' Nanami is able to write a word in a talisman and achieve make that word come true, provided you are within your spiritual level. For example, on one occasion wanted Kurama to talk with Ami and wrote 'air' on the talisman and then paste it into the back of the Tengu and just placed it there, was as invisible as air, in fact barely noticed his presence Ami. *'Purification:' As Goddess of the Earth, it is their duty to purify demons. This task is accomplished with Mamoru, her little shikigami. As a talisman spiritual energy consumed, Mamoru also happens to be a talisman, and that feeds the spiritual power of Nanami. Personality As noted by Tomoe, although Nanami appears to be a weak human, her spirit is strong. Because of this spirit, Nanami tends to land herself in a lot of trouble without even trying. She also tends to have a lot of courage (though she can be a hothead at times), and tends to stand up for herself and others. She also doesn't give up, and is very "stubborn" as shown when she didn't beg Tomoe to save her, even though she was hanging on for her life up in a tall tree. Even though she is human, she will do whatever she can to help those she cares for and those in need. Since she is human, she has "feelings" that yokai and immortal Gods don't understand, which makes her one of the strongest characters in the show, (even though she sometimes has problems believing in herself and her abilities). Nanami has a kind, gentle, understanding, and caring heart for those around her, even if they are "bad" people or Yokai. She often cries when things get to hard or when someone is hurt or in pain, and it has been noted that her crying face has had its effect on humans and Yokai alike, who don't like it when she cries or is upset. She is able to change people with his great determination and kindness, making them just the right way and helping them with their problems. And also can be changed and determined by those around her too. As noted by almost everyone she has ever met, she doesn't have proper behavior, she can be a busy body, and is a bit tomboyish, and she also has the habit of promising things without thinking through (Which makes Tomoe and Kurama scared when she gets ideas.) She also tends to think "Outside the box" and comes up with the weirdest ideas. Even though she is human, she has good body strength, as seen when she raised up a heavy clam shell that Tomoe had hidden under in order to talk to him face to face, resulting him being shocked and a bit afraid. She will often get into other's faces when they do something that she doesn't feel is right, and she'll grab them by the collar of their shirts or kimonos, if she is angered enough at their actions. She has been known to hit others when angered. She hit Tomoe on the back of the head with her purse and slapping Mizuki when he kissed her while she slept. Overall, Nanami is the type of person that would like to see others happy and will go out of her way to make them that way, even if it means that she has to get hurt or sacrifice something to make it so. One of Nanami's most distinguishing traits is her belief that yokai and humans can truly love each other. She goes out of her way and states this whenever she gets the chance or whenever Tomoe or anyone else responds negatively on the subject. She has stated that she will never get married (like she promised her mother), but in chapter 62 when Tomoe proposes to a child Nanami in her past, she agrees to it. Nanami currently does not remember doing this. When Nanami gets her soul implanted in Yukiji's body, she witnesses Tomoe's hate and disgust for humanity. Even thought she was frightened, she still fought against him, by biting his finger. Once she managed to escape, and when back into her own time, Nanami grew frightened when Tomoe reach to touch her. Instead of him hurting her like she thought, he only touched her forehead for her temperature. She then began to cry, happy that she got the Tomoe she knew back. "I'm glad this is the Tomoe that I know." She accepts Tomoe's nature and how he was in the past. But knows that he is different and won't do anything to hurt her and doesn't harbor any ill feelings for what he almost did to her in the past when she was in Yukiji's body. She knows that he is different now and that is all that matters to her. This is an example of her forgiving nature. She will forgive anyone who has ever hurt no matter how bad it is. Past/History After the death of her mother, by some unknown disease, Nanami became responsible for the house and tried to keep her irresponsible dad in check. Nanami is a girl of sixteen, after his mother's death by disease, was responsible for the house and to control his irresponsible father. For years his father was addicted to gambling and betting, which more than once made the girl suffer. With its small economy, the food she has prepared for school, studied hard and even endured being bothered by their economic situation by some of her class mates, as Isobe , for years. One day his father left a huge debt and flees home.Immediately after his flight gets people to seize the place, being in the street and a couple of suitcases in tow. Nanami could not remember what her mother, Kumimi, looked like. When Tomoe, Mizuki and Nanami paid a visit to the shrine of their own passages, Nanami enters hers first and Tomoe and Mizuki witness her past. As a child, Nanami was deeply affected and influenced by her mother. Nanami listened when she told her to "never trust papa, never tell him where the money is even if he begs you", and "grow up and be as healthy as mama, grow up and become an adult on your own". After seeing her memories for a while, Mizuki and Tomoe decide to enter there in order to get back her. Unfortunately, Nanami doesn't realize who Mizuki or Tomoe are, since she hasn't yet become a land god, and instead of going with the two willingly, she believes Mizuki is a pedophile, and decides to run away from him. Eventually Tomoe is able to get her to trust him (by volunteering to help her "run away from the pedophile"), and he is able to return her safely though her memories, thus returning her to her normal age. As a child, Nanami learned that she couldn't rely on men or "Husband" and that growing up and living alone as an adult was best. This was mainly due to her mother's influence which resulted in Nanami getting her independent nature from her mother. Growing up, instead of using "I" when addressing herself, she would say her name and would constantly say "want" or "don't want" in her sentences. She had a habit of running around in circles, even when being chased by a "pedophile" which in this case was Mizuki. Her keen trait as a child was her always saying that she would not fall in love and get married. (Which is something that she shares in common with Tomoe). However she stated that if Tomoe really likes her and propose her than she would say yes. The ironic thing is that when he did ask her in her younger form, she agreed without hesitation even though she didn't know him at the time. After meeting one of the 12 Zodiac animals, the Dragon, they realize that is lost. Once they reunite him with the new New Year god in charge of the shine, he gives a picture of her mother (all of the pictures of her mother were burned in a fire because her dad forgot to put out a cigarette, which caused the apartment to catch on fire) as a token of gratitude for reuniting him with his dragon. Nanami and her mother have a striking resemblance. Her mother seems to have lighter hair than Nanami, but their smile and eyes are both very similar. Nanami's dark hair could have come from her father's side of the family. ''Note: In the flashback of Nanami's memories about her mother, her mother stated that for generations her family has picked the worst men. She also states that her family can only give birth to a single healthy baby girl, because her family ancestor drank from a "divine spring", which turned her into a beautiful girl. In VIZ translation the cause was slightly different, as it was a god who gave a medicine to Nanami's ancestor who drank it and became beautiful. '' The first time Nanami travels back in time using Mizuki's "time-travel incense burner", Nanami's soul is implanted into Yukiji's, Tomoe's former love-interest, body. She witnesses Tomoe's savage behavior towards humans and is almost hurt by this behavior herself. However, she fights back by biting his finger and escapes. Her act of courage makes Tomoe fall in love with her, even before they meet in the future. The second time Nanami travels to past to find Dragon King's eye and get it back to save Tomoe. She travels in flesh for the first time and met Tomoe who didn't recognized her and left with the eye. After she followed him she finds him with a woman who was Yukiji, she was shocked by Tomoe's affection for her. When Tomoe left, instead of taking the eye Nanami helped Yukiji swallow it. Next time Nanami travels to past to meet the fallen God who made the contract with Tomoe and to find a way to save him. She ended up in a village where she was mistaken for a demon but was rescued by Yukiji soon and stayed in her home. When Tomoe was being chased by the villagers, she expected Yukiji to save him as she was his former love, but she refused and declared 'all demons should die' hatefully. Nanami helplessly ran out to look for Tomoe, and finds him badly injured in his child form. She took him back and lied to Yukiji about him being from her village, and begged Yukiji to help her save him. She later looks for the peach pill desperately which was washed away in the river and fed them to Tomoe. After when Tomoe started to get better, she took care him at night when he would be asleep and hid from him. When Tomoe asked Futa who saved him, he said it was Yukiji as Nanami requested him not to tell Tomoe about her. This is when Tomoe started to think of Nanami as Yukiji. The fourth time Nanami travels into the past is when she returns from healing her body from time travel. Then she meets Akura-ou who made her travel with him into the capital. But when she sees him killing robbers, she runs away in tears. Then she meets Yukiji and later decides to become her substitute bride in her wedding. Then during the wedding procession she was targeted by Akura-ou as he was after Yukiji and sent Kirakaburi after her, but Nanami was rescued and kidnapped by Tomoe. There, Nanami, as Yukiji, promises to be Tomoe's wife and he takes her back to the lord's house where Yukiji sees them together. The fifth time is when Nanami travels back to Ontake Mountain and sees Kuromaro and he tells her of how he had meet Tomoe, and of Yukiji's death, confirming that The present was already set in motion. Kuromaro than shows Nanami of what happened when she was gone, showing her what had happened in the 8 years she was gone. She saw Yukiji, who she was living happily with her husband and expecting a child, until Akura-ou raided the place, killing everyone as Tomoe shows up to find Yukiji as she pleads for help. Trivia *In the manga, when Nanami finds Tomoe at the red light district she slaps him and tells him that he is the one who should go home. In the anime, this does not occur. *Tomoe and Nanami share a few similarities. They both have lost a loved one that they cared for with all their hearts (Tomoe lost Yukiji and Nanami lost her mother), both were abandoned by someone (Tomoe was abandoned by Mikage and Nanami was abandoned by her dad), both have bad tempers, both speak their mind. Both are rebellious and don't behave. *Both Tomoe and Nanami are looked down upon for their rank. Nanami is looked down upon for being a human who has the "Land God" title. Tomoe is looked down upon for being a yokai, but having a "Familiar" title. They are both disliked in their own worlds and in the divine world. *Nanami dislikes shiitake mushrooms. *Nanami likes "cute" things such as small children and babies or cuddle-like animals. *After her mother's death, Nanami had to take on a lot of responsibility, becoming the "woman" of the house. She was left alone much of the time while her dad left to gamble. When Nanami was younger, her mother was always home, but after her mother's death, there was no one home to welcome her back. * Through the story, Nanami is given many titles and is referred to by various different names. "Nanami-sama", translated as the equivalent of "Lady Nanami" in the English sub, is her most famous/and mostly used one. others are "Nanami", "Celestial Maiden/Fairy", "Elder Sister", "Nanami-hime", "Miko" Or "Shrine Maiden," "Human God", "Human Land God", "Land God", "Human", "Nanami-san", "Momozono-san", and "Nanami-Chan" "Dirt-poor Momozono-san" "Dirt-poor girl" "Little Princess" *Nanami tends to love romantic novels. "Beverly Hills Teenage Drama Diaries" is her favorite one. *She likes to "sleep in" on Sundays. If Tomoe would let her, she would sleep in the whole day. *As a child, Nanami had her hair up in short pig tails. But now, as noted by Tomoe, she hardly ever puts her hair up. *To keep her classmates from questioning her high rank, Nanami told Tomoe that if anyone asked she was adopted into his family. Which is kind of true, since Mikage adopted her into becoming the Land God. Due to this, her classmates describe her as a "Girl that had gone through a lot of hardships and has been adopted into a rich family" in this way, she is similar to Yukiji. *Nanami seems to learn through the movements of things, and responds well to competition. She also has a habit of bragging about her ability and talismans. *Kei and Ami are the first human friends Nanami makes. *Nanami get's her beauty and spirit from her mother, but she also gets her father's lack of discipline and his slothfulness, which is seen when she doesn't like waking up on Sundays and how she sleeps. *Nanami is in a Music and English class in school. *As a child, Nanami's dream was to have a big brother. *Nanami has a fear of being useless to Tomoe and is constantly comparing herself to him and others. *Nanami is a popular female Japanese name that can mean multiple things depending on the two kanji used to spell it out."七海" is "seven, sea", "七美" is "seven, beauty", "七実" is "seven, fruit" and "七生" is "seven, life". *Tomoe is Nanami's first love. *It has been strongly hinted that Nanami might be Yukiji's descendant. As in chapter 91, when she fixed her hair she looked very much like Yukiji. It was noted by Futa that they are so much alike that they might have blood relation. Quotes (To herself) "I will never trust another adult again!' (To Mizuki) "I want to save Tomoe. But I can't just sit by and watch a person suffer either. So I have to..." (To Mizuki) "It's fine. I'm still young. Thirty years won't kill me. But Tomoe only has a day left." (To Mizuki) "I wonder if Tomoe is still in love with Yukiji-san" (To self about Tomoe) "No matter what happens. As long as you believe in me. I'll not be afraid anymore. I want you to look at me." (Thinking about Tomoe) "Even if we take different paths. Even if we are not together. I hope he'll be happy. Because a yokai has many enemies...At least let me give you something that will protect you. Please you must not be hurt. . . But have a healthy life to always look forward to. Even if he is not my familiar. Tomoe, is the person I care about the most." (To Tomoe while drunk) "Tomoe. . . is the person I like the most." *Sighs afterwards* (To mother, as a child) "But, Nanami wants a big brother." (To Tomoe as a child) " Don't want. Won't get Married. Nanami won't be lured by food! Won't fall in love and get married." (To Tomoe) "Get well soon . . . okay." (To Futa) "Sorry. . . Thank you for taking care of me Futa-kun Thank you for worring for me too." (To Futa) "Because I'm an outsider. I can't interrupt with anything. Yukiji-sama and Tomoe." (To Akura-ou) " You are always using that scary face of yours and everyone will be scared. You didn't come here to look at Women's frightened faces right?" (To Suke) "Ah, your partner of that guy who wanted to ravish me." (About Yukiji) "Stop it. I must protect her." (About Yukiji's smile) "If it's to preserve Yukiji-san's happy smiling face." (To Yukiji) "I'm sorry to trouble you, I have never though of spoiling your happiness Yukiji-san. . . But. . . My happiness is the same as Yukiji-san's happiness! So I won't let you die! This is a promise! (About Tomoe) "I'm not used to pretending to be a bride . . . what will Tomoe say when he sees me?" (About Tomoe) "Please continue to watch over me, Tomoe." (To Suke) "Yukiji-san is not getting married for you to eat a delicious meal! It's in order to create a new family! Because Yukiji-san will definitely become happy! (About Tomoe) "Somewhere in my heart, there is a me that won’t refuse. . . Tomoe’s arm . . . is a warm nice feeling . . . I wanted to meet you . . . I've always . . .wanted to touch you." (To Tomoe) " P-Please don't look at me" Category:Female characters Category:Gods Category:Humans Category:Characters